Na Gaeil have the individuals to beat Beaufort and deliver long awaited title
COUNTY PREMIER JUNIOR FC FINAL
Na Gaeil v Beaufort
Sunday, May 6
Austin Stack Park, Tralee at 2pm
A LITTLE over a month ago in our pre-Club Championship previews Na Gaeil got the nod to claim the Premier Junior title, but we won’t be clapping ourselves on the back just yet.
Beaufort stand in the way of the Tralee club winning the county’s third-tier championship and while we did side ever so slightly with Firies to come out of Group 1 it was the Mid Kerry club that did the business: their seven-point Round One win over Firies being the crucial result.
Quite which team is favourite for Sunday’s final is both impossible to say and irrelevant. This is simply too close to call, with the expectation that it should be both a tight and free scoring game.
Neither team really has a propensity for playing negative football, although Na Gaeil did box clever in their semi-final against Fossa and set up fairly defensively to negate the threat of the Clifford brothers.
Even so, they still kicked 2-14 against Fossa to keep their average over this Championship at 20 points per game.
Beaufort haven’t been too shabby in the scoring department either with an average of 17.5 points per game over this competition. In fact, Beaufort have scored 6-52 compared to Na Gaeil’s 6-62, which suggests a fairly high scoring final on Sunday if both team’s have a mind to trust their attacking strengths.
If Na Gaeil’s semi-final defeat to Firies last year - and their fortunate enough draw at home to Ballymac in this year’s Group phase - act as a cautionary tale, then so too should Beaufort’s semi-final win over Churchill.
The five county league divisions might have separated them last Saturday in Milltown but the Division One team were mightily lucky to come away with a onepoint win after extra-time. There was no suggestion that Beaufort underestimated Churchill, but they certainly won’t take Na Gaeil for granted on Sunday. Nor will Na Gaeil do likewise.
As Na Gaeil manager Donal Rooney correctly points out, both teams come with a strong central spine, especially their middle four, and while this will be a crucial area and platform for success, the match winners could easilt come from elsewhere on the pitch.
Stefan Okunbor might well come out to the half forward line to mark Liam Carey but equally he might be left inside to keep tabs on Ciaran Kennedy, a forward Na Gaeil will have to be mindful of.
Similarly, Beaufort full back Ger Hartnett - excellent in this championship - will have his hands ful, with either Dan Devine or Diarmuid Herlihy in the Na Gaeil full forward line.
Beaufort have a powerful and seasoned team, but in the Barry brothers, Okunbor, Diarmuid O’Connor and Herlihy, Na Gaeil might just finally reach the Promised Land of a county title.
Na Gaeil